This disclosure relates generally to the field of golf clubs. More particularly, it relates to golf clubs having a golf club head with a textured striking face. Even more particularly, it relates to putter-type golf club heads having grooves or valleys and peaks or ridges milled or otherwise formed into the striking face.
Golf club heads come in many different forms and makes, such as metal-woods, irons (including wedges), utility- or hybrid- or specialty-type clubs, and putters. Each of these styles has a prescribed function and general construction. The present disclosure concerns golf clubs and golf club heads, and primarily relates to putter-type golf clubs, which typically are used to strike a golf ball and impart a rolling path on the greens of a golf course.
There are many styles of putters, including but not limited to blades, mallets, heel-toe weighted, and T-line putters. Different types of putters provide different advantages. For example, T-line putters typically have a body member extending rearward from the face. This may help the golfer visualize the intended line of the putt, and may provide improved mechanical attributes. Some putters that are heel-toe weighted are designed for maximum moment of inertia so that when the ball is struck on a location that is offset from the center of the face, the putter resists rotating.
Putters are also governed by the rules of golf set by the USGA. The rules include the heel-toe dimension, the front-to-back dimension, the neck length, the face angle, the lie angle and that the putter shall not be substantially different from the customary and traditional form.
In general, putters comprise a putter head, a striking face, a shaft, and a grip secured at the proximal end of the shaft. The putter head may, but does not always, include a hosel or neck for connecting the distal end of the shaft to the putter head. When used, a hosel or neck may be generally formed from the same material as the putter head, for example, steel. The hosel may be integrally formed with the club head or may be attached thereto via welding or other methods known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
The striking face of putters may take different forms. Some striking faces are smooth, and others are textured, and/or contain graphics. One common technique for providing a textured striking face is to mill the surface of the striking face such that it is roughened, and presents a pattern of grooves, ridges, peaks, valleys and the like. A putter striking face typically has a low loft of, for example, 2°-3°, in order to impart a rolling motion to the golf ball at impact, as opposed to higher lofted golf clubs that launch the ball into the air upon impact.
One important aspect of golf is how the golf club feels during the golf stroke and at the moment of impact with the golf ball. This latter aspect is commonly known as “touch” or “feel.” For some golfers, particularly with their putting stroke, a putter that provides good “touch” and/or a soft “feel” at the moment the putter face contacts the ball is highly desirable. There have been attempts to improve putter “touch” and “feel,” for example, by placing vibration dampening materials behind or on the club face, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,334,818 and 6,231,458. Such vibration dampening materials may include, for example, an elastomeric material, such as silicone. Also known is to use as putter faces or putter face inserts soft alloys, such as tellurium copper alloys having a hardness of approximately 80 HB, to improve touch and feel of the club. Another attribute often sought by golfers is a desirable “sound” created when the golf club strikes the ball. This attribute is difficult to quantify, and is often measured by consumer tests that rate whether the consumer finds the sound that results from striking the ball with the club being tested as “good” or “bad.” Nonetheless, there remains a need in the art to provide a putter face that imparts improved “touch” and/or softer “feel” and/or “sound” at the moment of impact than is currently achievable.